Anti-Social, Un-Networking Tools (stealth-wired)

Google's chat client ganined an "Invisible" mode last week. I can see you, you can't see me, but I can initiate a chat with you if I need.
(You can send me an email, if *you* need.)

I've spent some time recently thinking through the basic communication model, and had to cheer when I saw this.

I really think we should start seeing increased "MOOD SUPPORT" since, well, who really wants to be available to everyone at every moment. It's more than an "invisible" mode in chat - it's dialing down the noise of all social media, flexibly.

So, what's this mean for Metcalfe's Law? Maybe it's a question worth considering. There's clearly a distinction to be made between the value of increasing servers and websites versus increasing users; however, the value of the Internet is increasingly bolstered by people and an immediacy of participation. Help forum communities and flickr are both examples. So is Google's algorithm. As we add layers of "my contacts" into the value proposition of the Web itself, I wonder if the "social" layer we're collectively sculpting will see a backlash, or what that might look like.